Coming Home
by Rogue Fox
Summary: Sandy is just a normal college girl, with an unusual hidden past. When she meets a mysterious stranger, Ash, memories she doesn't recognize plague her. Can she and Ash discover their past identities in time to save the forest again?
1. Default Chapter

Coming Home  
  
Part One... We'll Come Back  
  
Ashitaka raised his head and gazed out the cave entrance worriedly. He glanced to his side, where San was sleeping peacefully. Tonight, they were sleeping in the wolves' den because trouble was brewing in the forest, making it unsafe to sleep in the small home Ashitaka had made for them. On San's other side slept Mora, Ashitaka and San's eleven year old daughter. Despite her small and ordinary appearance, Mora was a powerful little wolf girl, with every bit of her parents' keen senses, physical prowess, and other attributes making it easier to live in the forest. Tonight, Mora and San slept peacefully at Ashitaka's side, unaware that his head was still lifted, searching with unnatrually strong eyesight for the source of his strange sense of foreboding. His ears strained to hear any sign of the trouble he sensed, his nose quivered in its struggle to pick out an unfamiliar scent that might be the danger. But his ears and nose were not as qualified for this work. San had always been his ears and nose in the forest. Resisting the urge to wake her, on the risk of waking Mora who would ask a string of unanswerable questions, Ashitaka carefully moved away from San and walked to where San's wolf brothers lay, heads turned toward the cave entrance and ears cocked expectantly.  
  
" Something's happening." he said to them quietly. The two brothers raised their lips in snarles.  
  
" And for once, it's not that woman." the eldest growled. Ashitaka looked out the entrance in shock. Eboshi was not the cause?  
  
" Really? I thought for sure she was trying to get the forest, even after she signed the treaty." Ashitaka said. The wolves shook their great, shaggy heads.  
  
" No. The smell of human fear is strong. Even the humans know something is happening. Tonight, I fear, something will happen that will change everything." the younger of the pair said. They now considered Ashitaka a brother. He was like another wolf to them. A strange, small wolf, but a mate for their little sister none the less. Ashitaka peered at the top of the mountain hesitantly.  
  
" Whatever is going on, the cause is there." Ashitaka said, pointing to the top of the great mountain on which the whole Forbidden Forest lay.  
  
" I believe so, brother." the older wolf said, almost smiling at the word brother. Suddenly, Ashitaka felt San's arms snake around his upper chest.  
  
" I smell trouble. What's happening?" she said bluntly. Ashitaka peered down at the precious girl he was proud to call his wife and mate. Dangerous to her enemies, a wonderful fighter to her allies, a caring, devoted mother to Mora, and all the love and support Ashitaka would ever need.  
  
" I don't know. Something. Something...big." Ashitaka said. A small pinpoint of light appeared at the mountain top.  
  
" Very big." the younger wolf added. His older brother nodded down to Mora, who still slept as though no danger existed.  
  
" The little pup is danger. She must not accompany us if we must fight." he said. Ashitaka and San nodded simultaneously.  
  
" Yes!" San agreed quietly but urgently. Ashitaka cocked his head in thought.  
  
" Yakul can carry her to Iron Town. Toki will know to care for her until we can get her." he suggested. San pulled herself away from him and knelt beside their daughter. It was the type of thing Ashitaka lived to see. His wife and daughter, together. He remembered the day San had brought Mora into the world. San was probably the only one in the whole cave that had known what she was doing. Ashitaka and the wolves weren't allowed in, and Toki, who Yakul had been sent to get, had been late. According to Toki herself, she had barely arrived in time to catch the little "pup," as San called her. San had gone through the largest portion of childbirth on her own. Just another testiment to how amazing she was. But, Ashtiaka had known that from the very first time he had seen her, blood smeared across her face and standing on a river bank, muddy, smelly, and tired. Now, her face was scrunched in worry for her first and only "pup."  
  
" How will she stay on if she's asleep?" San asked worriedly, brushing a lock of black hair away from Mora's closed eyes. Mora had inherited her father's messy dark hair, which her mother cut short, and San's piercing eyes.  
  
" We'll tie her on. Don't worry, San. Mora knows that we love her and she knows that we'll only do what's best for her. And it's not like Yakul doesn't know the way." Ashitaka assured her. San scooped the eleven year old up into her arms and rocked her tenderly.  
  
" Brothers, would you please get Yakul?" she asked, never taking her eyes off Mora's serene face. After the two wolf brothers had gone, mumbling something about mushy sentimency, Ashitaka stepped up and embraced San and the still sleeping Mora in her arms.  
  
" It'll be okay." he whispered. Mora shifted and snuggled closer to San. San looked as though she would break down at any second.  
  
" She's still so little. I never knew. Is this what my mother felt for me and my brothers?" San asked. Ashitaka squeezed her, forcing memories of his won mother and father out of his head.  
  
" More than likely. Moro loved you. You're passing on her love to our Mora, and someday, when she finds a mate, Mora will pass it on to her child. And who knows, maybe she will name her pup for one of us, like we named her for Moro." Ashitaka said. San smiled at his visions for the future, knowing that all the while he was gazing at that growing light on the top of the mountain, feeling his aprhensiveness and fear.  
  
" But is it meant to be?" she asked. Ashitaka kissed her on the neck.  
  
" There's only one way to know." he whispered into her soft skin as the wolves came in, followed closely by Yakul. Ashitaka approached his life long friend.  
  
" Yakul," he whispered into the elk's ear. " You know I love you like a brother, and I'd trust you with my life any day. But tonight, I entrust you with something far more important. I need you to carry Mora to Iron Town, to Toki and Korokou. Please, Yakul, you, like everyone else, know that something will happen tonight. I know that I may not live to see the sun tomorrow. San may not either, and that thought is unbearable. I have to know that Mora will be alright, and if you carry her, I know she will be. Please, my closest friend, carry her like the wind, like you carried me through hoards of samurai and thousands of falling arrows, and I was never hit, not once. On your back, a person, a beast, anything is safe from harm. Which is why I ask you to carry my daughter through. Please, Yakul, tonight you must take her and be safe. Will you do this for me?" Ashitaka asked. He stood back as the red elk bucked his head enthusiastically. San ran foreward and leaned her head on Yakul's neck. Ashitaka and Yakul alone knew she was crying.  
  
" Oh, Yakul," she whispered. " We knew we could trust you. You are our guarding wind. Love her like you loved us, if we cannot come back for her." San requested. Yakul bent his head over San's and neighed softly. Ashitaka ran his hands over his friends great antlers as he looked nervously to the ever growing light on the mountain top.  
  
" It's time, San." he said urgently. San gently laid their daughter out on Yakul's back and held her while Ashitaka tied her gently, but firmly, in place with some rope they had brought from their home. One last caress on the face, one last affectionate word, and Yakul leaped down the ledge that the cave was on and through the forest. No doubt Mora would awaken before Yakul reached Iron Town. She was tied onto Yakul too tightly to move, and struggling would get her no where. Yakul would not stop until he was standing in front of Toki. Ashitaka knew there was no need to worry about Mora. But the foreboding was not gone. San mounted the eldest wolf and Ashitaka took the other. Together, the four rode up the mountain, toward the bright light. At the top, Ashitaka and San leapt off the wolves and saw that the light was coming from a deep crack. Ashitaka drew his sword and San brandished her dagger. Her headress was back at the cave. Peering into the crack, Ashitaka saw something black inside the glowing earth, struggling upward. He stumbled backward just as a huge, black, shaggy head errupted from the ground with a mighty roar. The head had a long, sharp snout and two pointed, black ears. Ashitaka hardly needed to think to see that the head, about three fourths the size of the largest wolf brother all on its own, was that of a massive black wolf. After the head, gigantic, powerful shoulders pushed out of the molten earth with a mighty shake, and the great wolf roared again. Beside Ashitaka, San growled angrily. Ashitaka raised his own hackles in an angry snarle. From the earth or not, this creature was a wolf, and it had invaded their territory. Though badly outsized, the wolf brothers reacted similarly. The giant wolf, all in all a little larger than Ashitaka remember Moro being, heaved itself from the glowing ground and stood before the four.  
  
" I am Morto, the Black Wolf God." the wolf growled. It was definetly male. " I have come for my sister, Moro. Tell me where she is." the giant wolf requested.  
  
" Moro's dead!" San shouted at Morto, waving her blade threateningly. The wolf glared down at her as if noticing her, Ashitaka, and the wolves for the first time.  
  
" And who are you, puny human?" he asked. San bristled.  
  
" I am no human! I am Princess Mononoke, The Princess of Wolf Gods, daughter of Moro!" she yelled back. Morto seemed a little taken aback by San's speech.  
  
" And we are sons of Moro! This is our place! You are not welcome! Leave!" the wolf brothers cried in unison. Morto's angry glare rested on Ashitaka, who returned the glare icily.  
  
" You accept a human male among you, but not your own uncle?" he asked angrily. It seemed that angrily was the only way Morto knew how to talk. Now Ashitaka bristled. Even though he was at peace with the fact that he was human, he would not have his new found family put down because of it.  
  
" Intruder! You speak to the mate of Moro's daughter! Watch your tongue!" Ashitaka threatened. He knew the ways of wolves well. No kindness could be shown to intruders. Morto raised his hackles threateningly.  
  
" You say Moro is dead? Moro was the most powerful wolf god! Who has slain my sister? Why does the mountian of the Forest God not smell like the Forest God? Tell me this?" Morto asked. Ashitaka began to feel like Morto was no friend. This was a dangerous beast who must be killed.  
  
" The answer to both is the same. A human woman called Eboshi has slain both the Forest God and Moro." San answered, no longer yelling. She still meanced Morto with her stone knife. Morto roared.  
  
" I have come to assist my sister in guarding this forest, only to find she has been killed by a human female and in her place stands two wolves barely past their pup years and two creatures with the bodies of humans and the hearts of wolves! And the Great Forest Spirit is slain also? Then nothing is left for me! But I think I shall derive great pleasure in destroying these two human creatures!" Morto shouted, lunging at San and Ashitaka. Ashitaka felt no pain. Only his sweet, beautiful San embracing him and whispering in his ear.  
  
" We must go to Mother now." she whispered.  
  
" Yes." Ashitaka agreed. He felt light and free. Only then did Ashitaka realize he was dead. It was the last thing he ever realized.  
  
Mora ran through the forest in fright. She had barely escaped Toki, and now, gripping her dagger that her mother had made her, she ran to assist her parents. Suddenly she stopped. She heard the mournful howling of one of her wolf uncles. She read the words behind the sad tune. Instantly, she collapsed.  
  
" Mama! Papa!" she cried in anguish. Mama and Papa had been killed. Pulling herself up, Mora ran on blindly, not feeling her painfully straining lungs and her screaming muscles, until she reached the mountain top. It was hot, very hot. The ground was marked with giant wolf foot prints, bigger than either of Mora's wolf uncles. Looking up, Mora saw two bloody heaps of flesh lying one on top of the other. The scent of evil and death were thick in the air, but strangely, there was no smell of fear as Mora crawled to the bloody heaps. Gingerly, she reached out and rolled the top one off. Now, lying side by side and face up, Mora could see their face. She rolled away and vomitted, tears streaming down her face.  
  
" Oh, by Moro! Mama! Papa! What happened?!" the terrified girl screamed into the ground. Gathering her courage again, she lifted her head and looked to the torn, bloody, broken bodies of her parents. She crawled to them again. Still, there was no scent of fear besides her own surrounding the corpses. They had died unafraid. At that one instant, Mora was proud.  
  
" What happened?" she whispered, gazing at the torn face of her mother in grief.  
  
" The same thing that's going to happen to you. Who would have thought that those two had a pup?" asked a thick growling voice. Mora wheeled around and caught a flash of black fur before she slashed with her knife. A giant wolf stood over her, the mark Mora had inflicted on his cheek a small blood red streak on black fur. He said nothing else, but snapped his jaws at Mora. Mora knew she would die, but she was determined she would not die afraid, she would be like her mama and papa. She, like her parents, felt no pain. Only warm, soft arms reaching out to her.  
  
" Mama, Papa." she whispered, burying her face in her mother's chest. The three of them nestled against soft, white fur.  
  
" Who-" Mora started to ask, but her father silenced her.  
  
" Your grandmother." a deep, rumbling, female wolf voice answered. And then Mora understood. She was dead.  
  
" We'll come back." her father promised. Mora looked up to see he was speaking to her uncles and Yakul. The three nodded and walked away, leaving the others in their heaven, their oblivion... 


	2. Promises Kept

Part Two... Promises Kept  
  
A nineteen year old girl barreled down the street. She was determined to make it to her college archealogy class on time. Oh, boy, she thought worriedly, if I'm late this time, Professor Hido will have my head. Finally, the girl managed to pull in to her seat just before the Pro. began the lecture. Just before beginning, he paused to look straight at the girl.  
  
" Good to see you on time today, Cassandra Moro." he said. The girl bristled at him.  
  
" Sandy, please, Professor." she said irritably. The Professor smiled at her. Sandy sat back in her seat and pulled her notebook out of her bag and snagged a pen to take notes. Her friend, Cassie, leaned over and whispered to her.  
  
" Lemme guess. You slept in. Cause you were up late last night." she whispered. Sandy nodded as the Professor began.  
  
" Today, as you know, we are scheduled to discuss Forbidden Mountain, which to our great fortune, is right outside town." the Professor began. " But a great opportunity has fallen before us." he said loudly. This produced a murmur from his students.  
  
" Oh boy. This oughtta be good." Sandy whispered to Naomi, her friend on her other side. Naomi surpressed a giggle.  
  
" I have been offered a chance to take this class up Forbidden Mountain, which, as you know, is a highly off limits archeology reserve, to a special dig. This dig is supposed to be for a study on the Tatara people, who lived here roughly three thousand years ago. But it is also to research and shed some light on the ancient legend of the Princess Mononoke and The Lonely Warrior. Now, I'm sure you all would want to go, so I took up the offer. I have papers anyone who wants to go will have to sign, so that if you get hurt, you can't blame it on me, the school, or the university funding the dig. We will be guided by the young archeology prodigy, Ash Taka. You all have heard me mention him before. He is less than a year older than you are, but he was excelling at archeology at age ten. Sort of like our own Ms. Cassandra, who is a regular genius at this fine art, only Mr. Taka was an orphan whose extreme intelligence was discovered early on and he was sent to a college at age twelve. Mr. Taka is also the best guide available for Forbidden Mountain. Rumors say that he used to run away from his orphanage to the mountain and explore. Well, I'll cut our lecture short for today and turn you loose. Remember to pick up a paper on your way out if you want to go on the dig." the Professor said. Sandy shoved her things back in her bag and stood.  
  
" Are you going?" Naomi asked her.  
  
" Are you kidding? I've been waiting my whole life for this kind of thing! You bet I'm going!" Sandy replied enthusiastically, snagging a form from Pro. Hido and heading out the door. Naomi held up her own form and the more timid Cassie held up hers.  
  
" I don't know, guys. I mean, there's lot's of mysteries around Forbidden Mountain. There have been a bunch of murders up there and there's supposed to be a crazy old man who lives there." Cassie said, wrapping her arms around herself and looking around as though she expected to see a crazy old man leap at her. Sandy rolled her eyes.  
  
" Oh, please. Everyone knows that Old Man Jiko isn't real. He's just a dumb urban myth the security guards made up to keep little kids off the mountain. As for the murders, well, who cares? We're future archeologists, for crying out loud! We have to learn to take some chances. Besides, we're going to have that Ash Taka guy to be our guide. Anyway, what got me was that Princess Mononoke legend that the Professor talked about. Do you guys have any clue what that is?" Sandy asked.  
  
" No, what?" Cassie and Naomi asked in unison, Cassie quivering and Naomi intrigued.  
  
" I don't know, I was asking you." Sandy said. Naomi let her head drop while Cassie breathed a sigh of relief. Sandy felt a tap on her shoulder and turned around. She found herself face to face with a handsome young man, a little taller than her and in jeans and a leather jacket.  
  
" Excuse me, my name is Ash Taka. I'm looking for Professor Hido. Do you know where he is?" the young man asked. There was something very familiar about his eyes, which were warm brown. Sandy felt a strange flash of deja vue. She remembered looking into those same eyes across a river and being intrigued. But that was impossible, wasn't it? Just my imagination, Sandy reminded herself.  
  
" Uh, Professor Hido is in there. Through that door." she said, pointing at the door she had just come out of. Ash Taka nodded his thanks and turned out of sight. As he did, Sandy saw a scar across his left cheek. Another strange memory rose. She remembered a heavy knife slashing out at that very face, catching the cheek. She remembered the drip of blood that escaped him, and then it was gone. The memories vanished, leaving only hollow echoes behind.  
  
" Whoa, what a hunk." Naomi said, leaning heavily on the spellbound Sandy as Ash Taka retreated.  
  
" Yeah... And he's gonna be our guide on the dig!" Cassie squealed. Naomi grabbed her hands and the two danced around in circles.  
  
" Oh, we have just hit the jackpot!" Naomi squealed.  
  
" Now I know I'm going, murders or not!" Cassie shrieked. Sandy watched as Ash Taka turned into the doorway of Pro. Hido's lecture room, stopped, and turned to look at Sandy. His eyes were searching and the question in them was clear. Why do I feel like I know you, he seemed to ask. Sandy shook her head, just a little. I don't know, her eyes answered. Just then, Pro. Hido rushed Ash Taka into the lecture room, breaking whatever connection had bee established between the two. Sandy was being hauled away by her friends. The strange, unfamiliar memory of his eyes, giving her that same, searching look from across a river arose again. Everything but the eyes was clouded. Why do I know you, Sandy echoed his unspoken question.  
  
Sandy stood hunched over her camping backpack. Behind her, Naomi was rushing around trying to find that certain tank top that she wanted to wear while she was there, and Cassie was worriedly checking her supply of flashlight batteries and wondering if she was allowed to bring portable motion censors and a generator to power them.  
  
" I mean, they should allow each student to bring whatever security measures the student sees fit, right?" Cassie said. Naomi rumaged through her dresser and rolled her eyes.  
  
" Yeah, whatever, Cassie. But I'm warning you, I am not sleeping in the same tent as a generator. You're gonna be in a tent all your own. All alone." Naomi said, drawing out the word "alone" to scare Cassie. Cassie shuddered.  
  
" Uh, maybe I'll just rely on strength in numbers." Cassie said, sitting down on her bottom bunk. Namoi cried out in sheer frustration.  
  
" Arrrrgh! Sandy! Have you seen my baby blue tank?" she asked angrily. Sandy turned to look at her friend.  
  
" The one with the really low back?" she asked.  
  
" Yeah! That's the one!" Naomi cried.  
  
" The last time I saw it, you loaned it to Cassie. You know I never wear that kind of stuff." Sandy answered. Naomi paused and thought. Her eyes brightened.  
  
" Ah-hah!" she cried, lunging at Cassie's dresser and digging through it, scattering clothes right and left. Finally, she emerged gripping a baby blue tank top that tied around the neck and left her back bare until about the middle. Sandy rolled her eyes and snagged a sweater to fold and neatly stuff in her bag.  
  
" It's a mountain, Naomi. A mountain. As in, the higher you go, the colder it gets. And even if we don't go that high, you're either gonna be roasted alive by the sun, or you'll get eaten alive by mosquitoes." Sandy said.  
  
" I'll just wear sunblock and bug spray!" Naomi returned, happily laying out her tank top.  
  
" And then you'll smell awful. That Ash Taka guy that you're head over heels for won't come within scenting deistance from you. And since we're hiking up, I just thought I'd warn you. For starters, hair gel comes off with sweat, gets into your eyes, and stings. Don't wear hair gel. Bug spray also comes off with sweat, and sweat attracts bugs. Sunscreen comes off with sweat. Then you'll bake." Sandy warned, selecting a pair of denim cut- off shorts that came down to just above her knees on the first day, which was the next day.  
  
" Geez, not everybody's an outdoor whiz." Naomi grouched. She still laid the tank top aside to wear the next day. Cassies counted her multiple first aid kits out loud.  
  
" One, two, three, four, five, six. I think I've got everything." Cassie said. Sandy rolled her eyes, a common practice for her, and strapped a sleeping bag to the bottom of her bag and slung it over her shoulders. She adjusted the weight to see if everything was balanced. Satisfied, she sat the bag down in a corner and snagged a slice of pizza from a box on a small table. She thought back to the moment she had looked into the familiar eyes of Ash Taka, a complete stranger. After he had left, Naomi and Cassie had commented on how he had been checking Sandy out. Sandy had blushed and ignored it. Even she, a total tomboy, had to admit he was hot. A glance at the clock told Sandy that it was almost ten at night, and she pulled out her ancient Japanese writing textbook. Naomi saw her and cried out, grabbing her own textbook.  
  
" Oh my gosh! I totally forgot about the quiz tomorrow!" she cried. Cassie calmly pulled out a textbook on palentology, her major. The girls studied for another three hours, before Cassie clicked out the light. Sandy fell asleep reading ancient Japanese, the symbols for Princess Mononoke, Princess of the Beasts in her head.  
  
The next morning, Sandy grinned from ear to ear on the bus. She watched Ash Taka as he directed the driver to the main security gate. She loved camping. Always had. Every now and then, Ash looked back at her and smiled. She liked his smile. But it also caused a strange feeling of deja vu inside her. As the bus pulled into the Forbidden Mountain Archeological Reserve, a mighty cheer went up from the students. Ash Taka stood in the aisle and smiled at their enthusiasm.  
  
" Welcome to Forbidden Mountain. Be ready. This is the first dig for Tatara artifacts that has been conducted in a good twenty years. There's a high chance that we'll uncover some really good stuff." he said. It was the first time Sandy had ever heard his voice. Yet, in a strange way, she knew exactly how it should sound. She knew.  
  
" But, as you also know, we are here to research the legend of Princess Mononoke and the Lonely Warrior. I seriously doubt any of you know the legend so I'll tell you parts of it, every night. It's an intriguing tale of gods of life, demons of death, bitter hate, boundless and forbidden love, and a fight that man kind still wages on the world." Ash was a good speaker. He had caught his audience completely. " It's a story you are unlikely to forget. We are trying to untangle the mystery of Princess Mononoke. When we reach the campsite, and get everything going, I'll tell you the first part of legend and explain who Princess Mononoke is. Now, everbody off this crate and follow me!" Ash cried, leaping off the bus. He seemed very pleased when his enthusiasm was greeted by cheers and laughter of eager students. Sandy hopped the bus and balanced her bag on her shoulders. She noticed when Ash stepped beside her.  
  
" Ready for a really long, tough hike?" he asked. Sandy shivered at his closeness.  
  
" You kidding? I live for this." she said, spreading her arms to indicate the world around her. Ash smiled.  
  
" So do I. This is my whole world. That bag looks heavy. Let me know if you need a hand." he said, then left her to take his position at the head of the group. Sandy watched him and sighed. She walked at the front, near Ash, mainly because she was experinced and didn't want to be caught behind a bunch of slow, complaining, unseasoned tenderfoots, but also because of Ash. The hike was up a steep hill and grueling. By the halfway point, where Ash stopped the group for a rest, most students were winded. Old Pro. Hido was wheezing like an old car. Sandy wasn't even breathing hard. Ash didn't seem phazed either.  
  
" Five minutes, everyone." he called out. He greeted this time by groans. Ash frowned. " What's the matter? You're not tired yet, are you? We're hardly halfway there!" he protested. A girl shrieked at this and sat down abruptly. " Okay, okay, how about half an hour?" he asked. Now he was greeted by sounds of approval. Sandy drank from her canteen and laughed.  
  
" They're just a bunch of tenderfoots." she told Ash, who smiled. Beside her, Naomi bristled.  
  
" I'm not a tenderfoot, whatever that is! You've been power-walking up this dang mountain! And this bug spray wore off! It said it was hundred perent guarentee that it wouldn't wear off!" she cried, near to tears. Sandy handed her some of her own.  
  
" Don't believe everything you see. Try this. Oh, and I brought some aloe lotion for you." Sandy said casually. Naomi looked up from rubbing the bug spray on her bare shoulders.  
  
" Why?" she asked, genuinely confused.  
  
" Because you're burnt. You're red as a radish." Ash answered for Sandy, who smiled. Naomi's eyes went wide as she inspected her shoulders.  
  
" Oh, man." she moaned. " If I sleep at all tonight, it'll be a miracle." Ash and Sandy laughed in unison. As the group stood to leave, Ash slowed his pace to match Sandy's.  
  
" Sorry, I didn't catch your name." he said. Sandy smiled brightly.  
  
" Cassandra Moro. But you can call me Sandy." she replied. Ash stepped ahead of her and started walking backwards.  
  
" Sandy's a good name." He commented. Sandy returned his smile.  
  
" Thanks." she answered. Ash smiled at her and turned around, walking ahead. After another two hours, near sunset, they finally reached the ideal campsite Ash had in mind. Everyone was assigned a tent and three tent mates of their own choosing. Natrually, Sandy chose Naomi and Cassie. She did most of the camp pitching for her group. Finally settled, the group gathered around the campfire Ash had made. Sandy found herself sitting near him, in between Naomi and Cassie.  
  
" Are we all ready for the first part of the legend?" Ash asked.  
  
" Yeah!" came the answer from muliple voices. Ash looked to Sandy, who gave him an encouraging smile. She found herself liking this young man more and more, with his jet black hair and dark eyes.  
  
" Three thousand years ago, there lived gods. Giant beasts that spoke like humans. They lived on this mountain, this very forest, under the rule of the Great Forest Spirit, a deer with the face of a man. Among those gods was a wolf goddess, a huge, two-tailed, white wolf goddess named Moro. Moro had two pups of her own, two males. One night, while Moro was hunting, she stumbled on a small camp of humans. Among those humans was a frightened human girl. While all the other humans ran away, the girl, clutching a small bundle to her chest, stood before her. She spoke to the giant wolf. She said,  
  
' Oh great Wolf God, I plead with you. Do with me what you wish, but do not harm my baby. These men are evil and they are going to kill me after they use me for their own entertainment. I beg of you, take my child and portect her.' the girl pleaded. Moro considered the girls touching bravery and replied.  
  
' I shall take the child and protect it as though it were my own pup. I will raise it in the ways of the Moro Tribe. I will not harm the child.' she said. The girl laid the baby at the wolf god's feet as a human man came back and dragged her away.  
  
' We have a deal, Moro! A promise! Watch over her!' the girl screamed. Moro leaned down and sniffed her new pup, a little, new born human female. Moro was pleased. A little female would be able to lead the tribe as an alpha one day. Suddenly, the baby smacked Moro's nose with a tiny, clenched fist. Moro laughed.  
  
' By the Forest God, you've got spirit, little pup! And thus, you have named yourself. I shall call you San. You are the Princess of the Wolf Tribe.' said Moro, as she picked up the little bundle, which coincedently was made with white wolf fur, with her teeth and carried it back to her den on a great peek. Her own pups were pleased with their new sister, but Moro explained that they must be gentle with her, for she was not as old or strong as the already huge pups. And San grew up, to become the great Princess Mononoke. She could speak to all sorts of animals. She understood the language of the forest, even. Legend has it that she wore a stone mask that she carved herself, and the white wolf fur blanket that she had been wrapped in the day Moro found her became her cloak, a way to make her feel like a wolf. She was fast and swift, a deadly enemy. Humans dreaded fighting her. She moved too quick for the eye to see. Humans and animals alike feared the wrath of the Princess Mononoke. That's all for tonight. Tomorrow, I'll tell you of the great war with the humans and the Lonely Warrior who interfered." Ash said, ending the story. Many listeners groaned, saying that now they had to wait until tomorrow night to hear more of the legend. Sandy stood from the ground and streched.  
  
" Let's go to bed." she said to Naomi and Cassie. Cassie shuddered as they walked to their tent.  
  
" Do you think that there's still wolves on this mountain?" she asked. A hand reached out and grabbed Cassie's shoulder, and another one grabbed Naomi's. The two screeched and whirled around.  
  
" Sure there are still wolves. I don't know about giant talking ones, but there are defiantly wolves." Ash said, having snuck up them. Sandy had to hold her breath to keep from laughing at her friends terrified faces. " Listen." Ash instructed. He cupped his hands around his mouth and made a long, drawn out wolf howl. Naomi and Cassie both shreeked again and dashed into the tent when another, much more realistic howl answered. Ash and Sandy laughed loudly.  
  
" Oh, that was funny." Sandy said, wiping tears of laughter. Ash nodded his agreement as he gasped for breath. Then he grinned.  
  
" You're not afraid of wolves, are you?" he asked playfully.  
  
" Nope. I'm not afraid of any animal." Sandy said confidently. Ash tickled her.  
  
" Oh, come on. Everyone's afraid of something." he said as Sandy pulled away from him and giggled as she fought to regain her breath. Finally breathing easier, she leaned against a tree.  
  
" I'm not afraid of anything in the natrual world. My greatest fear is... Oh, you have to promise not to laugh. I've never told anyone this." Sandy said threateningly. Ash grinned as he pulled a finger across his heart in an x.  
  
" Cross my heart, hope to die, stick a thousand needles in my eye if I lie." he said seriously, despite the silly grin on his face. Sandy returned his smile.  
  
" Alright. I'm afraid of humans. We're the worlds most deadly creatures. A human will kill out of cold blood. A wolf will kill you because he's hungry. To me, there's consolation in the fact that some wolf puppies can live if I die." Sandy said. Ash suddenly went serious.  
  
" I'm scared to death of anything with a motor. I could barely handle the bus ride here. Normally, I bike up here. I was in an awful car collision, a six car pile up with my car on the bottom, and I lost my parents in it. I was six when it happened, so I still remember. I can never remember any pain though. When I tried to think of pain, I felt this soft white fur, even though there was no fur anywhere. Just bent metal and torn seat padding. I can never figure out what it was, but something was keeping me from the pain. Something soft, white, and big." Ash said. Sandy sighed, and suddenly realized that Ash was standing right next to her. Very close. And getting closer. She felt his arms slip around her. She could feel his every action thouroughly, almost as though she knew exactly what he would do, exactly how his arms should feel. Suddenly, he froze and his muscles went taught. HIs breath was coming rapidly and his heart was thudding in his chest.  
  
" Don't move." he instructed Sandy, who stood rigid in his arms. " Now, slowly, turn your head. And don't panic." Ash said, slowly. After doind as he told her, Sandy had to fight to keep from gasping. About three hundred yards away, barely visible through the trees, stood a white wolf. A big white wolf. A very, very big white wolf. Suddenly, the huge beast raised his head and looked at Sandy and Ash.  
  
" He smells us." Ash said, his voice cold and strangely calm. Suddenly, Sandy felt limp. Later, she would describe what happened as a vision. It seemed like she was being thrust down a tunnel, a strange tunnel. Suddenly, she was running. And yet, it wasn't her moving her body. She was running in a way she had never run before, hunched over and sort of gliding over the ground, her feet too fast to be seen. And all the while, her legs were moving on their own. There was something heavy on her head, and her feet felt unusally light, almost like she was barefoot. Her normally shoulder length hair felt shorter. There were trees speeding by her, and Sandy knew she was moving very fast, faster than she ever had before. It was night, and there was moonlight. But strangely, she felt completely aware, like she knew every little detail about what was going on around her. Strange sensations assaulted her brain, and Sandy realized she was smelling all sorts of things, and tasting the very air. She could smell the scent of fear. Sandy was caught up in whatever she was doing. Her body screeched to a halt rather abruptly and something ran up beside her.  
  
" Did he get away?" a male, human voice asked. A familiar voice. Again, Sandy's body moved on its own. It knelt down and ran her hands on some tracks in the ground. They were shaped like deer tracks. She raised her head in the direction the tracks pointed and sniffed. Again came the assault of sensory input. Again came the distinct smell of fear. She turned her head to the left and to the right, sniffing the air. She smiled slightly.  
  
" No, he's trying to put us off. See, he's tracks go to the west, but his scent leads to the north." she told her companion. She looked at him. He was a young man, with messy, unevenly cut black hair and brown eyes. The young man pulled a bow that had been slung over his shoulders out and yanked a stonehead arrow from a sheath on his back.  
  
" How far is he?" he asked. Sandy smiled.  
  
" Not far. North about a hundred yards. There's a breeze tonight, and his scent is still strong. He's close. We need the come at him from the east, so the breeze takes our scent away." she said. Her companion nodded.  
  
" Mora's hungry, and it's late. Let's hurry." he said, taking off to the east to sneak up on whatever they were tracking. Sandy followed. Suddenly, she was once again being thrust through a tunnel until she was standing back in the forest with Ash, staring at a huge wolf. The great beast turned and ran into the woods. Ash sighed.  
  
" Man, he was big. If I didn't know better, I'd say maybe he was one of San's wolf brothers from the legend." Ash commented. Sandy nodded numbly and followed him as he led her to her tent, which was still a ways away.  
  
" Hey, don't say anything about that wolf to anyone, okay?" Ash said worriedly. Sandy looked up at him.  
  
" Why?" she asked.  
  
" Because, the mountain has been closed off to all visitors for years and years. Since the Tatara people's time. The government is only just now starting to let people into it. If they find out that we saw a huge wolf, they'll close it off again. They might even send in hunters to get that big guy. The last time they tried that, Princess Mononoke was still a teenage girl. That was when the war started." Ash explained. Sandy shivered.  
  
" Why'd they close it up in the first place?" she asked. Ash frowned.  
  
" I don't want to spoil the story for you, but I'll tell you this. Something happened on this mountain, nobody knows what for sure, but it was big. So big, Princess Mononoke was killed. Many Tatara died as well, including a priest called Jiko and the Tatara leader, Lady Eboshi. The two surviving wolf brothers made a deal with the few Tatara that were left. Until Princess Mononoke returned to the mountain, the humans would have to guard it. No one could enter. Until twenty years ago, the people in this area have kept the pact." Ash said. Sandy cocked her head.  
  
" You mean the government believes that there are still wolf gods living up here? After three thousand years?" she asked incredulously. Ash shook his head.  
  
" I don't know. But I do know that the government knows something we don't, Sandy. Something big happened on this mountain three thousand years ago. Something evil. And the government has been doing everything possible to keep it under wraps. Personally, I didn't really believe the legends, even if I thought there might be some truth to them. Until tonight. I'm telling you, Sandy, that was a big wolf. I mean big. He had to be at least eight feet tall at the shoulder." Ash said. He shook his head as though he was trying to clear. " Now I just don't know." he added. Sandy sat down on a stump.  
  
" This is weird. Ever since I saw you in the hallway, I been feeling strange. Like something inside me is waking up. And when I saw that wolf, something clicked. It was like a vision, or something. I was running through this forest with a guy, but it was different. I felt strong, way too strong. I think we were hunting something. A deer. And, boy, could I smell! I could smell my prey's fear. Wait, my prey? See, I did it again! I'm saying things, I'm knowing things I couldn't possibly know." Sandy slumped her shoulders and hung her head.  
  
" Same here. That wolf... I knew him. I knew you. I've always known this mountain. When I come here, it's like I'm coming home. And I love that feeling. Whoa, it's late. You'd better-" Ash said, but Sandy stopped him by leaping up.  
  
" Say that again!" she cried, her eyes wide.  
  
" Say what? It's late?" Ash asked, confused.  
  
" Yeah! You were the guy in my vision. Except, you were different. You were wearing some weird blue clothes. And you had a bow and arrows." Sandy said. Ash sat down in thought.  
  
" Do you believe in reincarnation?" he asked. Sandy closed her eyes and thought.  
  
" You mean the theory that after we die, we're born again in another time?" she asked.  
  
" Yes." Ash answered.  
  
" Well, I guess anything's possible." Sandy said.  
  
" Well, maybe we knew each other in a past life. Maybe we were really close friends. That would explain how I knew exactly what you were going to say when we were talking about fears earlier. I just knew you were going to say humans." Ash said.  
  
" That would also explain how I knew how your voice would sound before I heard it, your eye color before I looked, all sorts of little details I couldn't know." Sandy added. Ash shook his head and nodded to Sandy's nearby tent, where Naomi and Cassie were still awake, judging by quivering flashlight beams.  
  
" You'd better go. I'll see you tomorrow. First day of the dig. Maybe we'll find some clues to what happened up here three thousand years ago." Ash said hopefully. Sandy smiled suddenly.  
  
" Hey, you know what just occured to me? Maybe I was Princess Mononoke in my past life, and since I'm on the mountain, I'm having all these memories." Sandy suggested, her smile saying she wasn't serious.  
  
" Yeah, and maybe I was the Lonely Warrior." Ash said playfully, striking a battle pose and pretending to aim a bow and arrow. He made a little twang sound as he released his invisible arrow, whistled for it as it flew unseen through the night, and made a soft thump sound as it landed on its unknown target. Suddenly, Sandy saw Ash dressed as the young man from her vision, in that same pose, his face scrunched in concentration. Small hands were clinging to her waist. In an instant, the flash was gone, and Ash was gazing worriedly at Sandy.  
  
" You okay?" he asked. Sandy forced a smile.  
  
" Sure. I just spaced." she explained. Ash accepted her explaination. Quite suddenly, he leaned down and kissed her quickly. Then, he jogged off into the night, leaving Sandy staring after him, listening to a lonely wolf howl that echoed over the mountain. A familiar wolf howl.  
  
The next day, Sandy woke up earlier than ever before. The sun was hardly even beginning to rise. She walked out of her tent and listened. A wolf's howl rose and fell in a sad, mournful tune. Sandy felt the odd urge to answer the howl. Behind her, Naomi stepped out of the tent and listened as well.  
  
" Wolves. I had a dream last night. I dreamed that I was about twenty-five or so, and I had a husband. I dreamed that a big deer looking thing with reddish brown fur and long, straight antlers came down Lonely Mountain to the small home my husband and I lived in. There was a little girl, like ten or eleven, tied to the deer's back. She had black hair and blue eyes like yours. When I untied the girl, I asked her what happened to her parents. I called her Mora. I think I knew her. She told me she had to help her mama and papa, and then she ran off. Then I woke up." Naomi said quietly. Sandy shuddered. Mora was the name of the girl she had dreamed of.  
  
" I dreamed too. I dreamed that I was sharpening a stone dagger on a rock in a little hut. There was girl with black hair and blue eyes. I called her Mora, too. She was saying something about how her papa said he would take her to someplace called Iron Town. She was asking me if there were any kids her age in Iron Town. Then a guy about my age with short black hair came in with a deer over his shoulder. He smiled at me. He called me San. Then I woke up." Sandy told her companion. Naomi shook her head.  
  
" What's going on, Sandy?" she asked. Sandy shrugged and shivered.  
  
" I don't know. But whatever it is," Sandy paused as another wolf howl echoed from far away. " It has to do with this mountain." Naomi nodded and went inside the tent to dress, Sandy following her. A few hours later, the camp was up and about in preperation for the dig. It was to be conducted about thirty minutes away from the camp. Ash, of course, led the eager students to the site selected for the day's dig. Sandy walked beside him and told him in hushed tones of her dream. He nodded.  
  
" I had weird dreams too. I dreamed that I was riding a giant wolf through the forest. Just as we got where we were going, I woke up. But we were going fast, and I knew that what I had to do was important." Ash admitted. Sandy shook her head.  
  
" Too weird." she said as a guy named Kory, who Naomi liked and had a crush on Naomi, snuck up on Naomi and dumped cold water on her head. Naomi started screeching and yelling at him. Then, in a grumpy tone, she admitted that it felt good on her sunburn. Kory seemed pleased. Sandy laughed at her friends as she walked into the dig site. Professor Hido began to preech about each certain tool and it's use, but Ash started everyone up by handing out tools, muttering to Sandy that if they listen to that tenderfoot windbag, they'd be packing to go home before they even got started. Sandy, Naomi, and Cassie selected a small plot of their own to work on. Naomi hit the jackpot right off. She found the decayed remains of what seemed to be a rifle barrel. Professor Hido even paused from his speech to congratulate her on the find. Ash studdied the barrel.  
  
" The butt of it must have been wood, because it's been decayed away. But look at this. There are vines growing right through the iron. That's interesting. But we know that before they were wiped out, the Tatara had rifles for a breif time. That had a large part in the legends. But this, my friends, is our first Tatara finding!" Ash annoounced. Naomi was given many congratulations and students were much more encouraged. Sandy picked up her tools and moved farther away from the group. Ash followed her.  
  
" Hey, Sandy, don't wander too far off, okay?" he called. Sandy smiled at him over her shoulder.  
  
" Don't worry about me. I'll be fine." she said. She stopped at a large pool. There were beautiful blue butterflies flitting over soft green moss and, in the distance, Sandy could make out a small island in the pool. There was a small tree on the island. Sunlight flitted through trees. Ash approached her from behind.  
  
" Sandy- Whoa." Ash said in disbelief. " What a beautiful place." he commented. Sandy knelt down and brushed aside some dirt. Something hard and shiny struck her hand.  
  
" Hey, I found something." she said to Ash, who came and leaned over her shoulder. Pulling her find from the ground and brushing it clear of dirt, Sandy realized it was a necklace. With a crystal dagger, intricately carved. Ash gently took it out of her hands.  
  
" Now, that's not Tatara." he said in awe. Sandy ran her hands over the smooth, reddish crystal.  
  
" Then what is it?" she asked.  
  
" I'm not sure. I've only seen one thing like it. It was a real dagger. It was made just like this. The guy who found that dagger thought it was from the long lost Emishi tribe. I think that this is too. The problem is, the Emishi were rumored to have lived about a two hundred miles east  
  
of here." Ash explained. Sandy let out a low whistle.  
  
" Emishi? I've heard of them." she said. Ash handed her the necklace and smiled. Right then, Sandy had another vision. She was staring into the eyes of a bare chested Ash. He was wearing strange clothing. His eyes were sad and pleading, his arms reaching for her. Sandy was angry with him. She held in her hand the crystal dagger, and suddenly, in a fit of rage, she slammed the dagger into his chest with a sickening thump. Ash, or whoever he was, hardly flinched. As the realization of what she had done sunk in, he drew Sandy into his arms and held her tightly. Sandy felt sheer hopelessness. Then, the vision vanished.  
  
" It happened again." she said out loud to Ash.  
  
" What?" he asked.  
  
" A vision. I think your theory last night is correct." Sandy said slowly, holding the dagger in her hand. Ash wrapped his arms around her protectively, and she leaned into him heavily, breathing in his scent, noticing how easily she was able to pick it up. What's happening to me, she wondered.  
  
It was night. The bon fire was huge, and the camp was ready for the next part of the legend. Ash swallowed and looked to Sandy for encouragement. She smiled at him, but her eyes were haunted. Naomi had the same look. Eevn goofy Kory looked preoccupied. Maybe the answer lies in the legends, Ash thought hopefully.  
  
" The next part of the legend is where things get good. One day, in a land about two hundred miles east, a young man was riding on his red elk outside of the tiny village where he lived. He ran across his little sister and two of her friends, who told him that the village wise woman believed something had gone wrong in the forest surrounding the village." Ash paused for effect. But suddenly, he was seeing it all. The legend. He was the young man on the red elk, speaking to a young girl who looked startlingly like Sandy's friend Cassie. He continued his story, despite the strange vision. " The young man rode to the watch tower, where he met with the village watch man. Together they spotted something in the forest, just before it came charging out, straight through a stout stone wall. It was covered in horrible, bloody worms that crawled over it and formed horrid spider legs. Wherever the awful thing went, whatever it touched, trees, grass, even rock, seemed to wilt and die. The watch man cried out, saying that the thing was a demon. The demon knocked down the watch tower, and the young man and the watch man leapt away from it. The young man noticed that the demon was headed for his village. He leaped onto his faithful elk's back, hearing the watch man shout warnings to not let the demon touch him. The elk and his rider chased after the demon through the forest, where it ambushed them and chased them toward the village. In the distance, the young man saw his sister and her two friends running with all their might toward the safety of the village. One of the girls tripped and the young man's sister turned back and drew a small sword to defend her friend. The demon saw the prey that would be much easier to catch than a capable young human male, and turned after it. In panic, the young man reached over his shoulder and pulled an arrow from its sheath, put it on his bow, and let it fly. It struck the demon in its terrible, red eye. While it was recovering from the wound, the flesh worms reeled back to reveal the partially decayed body of a giant boar god, screeching in rage. The worms returned to their original state. The young man ventured to close and some of the flesh worms shot out at him, snagging his right arm. It burned terribly, an awful pain that would have blinded a lesser man. But not this one. He reached over his shoulder once more and let loose another arrow, hitting the demon in its other eye. The demon lay down with a mighty roar and the flesh worms sizzled away with a terrible hiss. The wise woman came as the young man fell off his elk and began to rub dirt on his terrible, purplish burn where the demon had touched him. His sister took a jug of water from the wise woman and poured it over his wound. The giant boar god's flesh decayed and revealed a huge skeleton, leaving behind the putrid scent of death and decay. Later, the young man was told that the touch of the demon and the purple, twisted scar it left behind meant he was cursed. He was given a small ball of iron that had been found lodged in the boar's bones. He was told that the ball had poisoned the boar, turned him from a god to a demon. The young man decided to go west, hoping to find the cause of the demon, hoping to find a reason for his death that was sure to come with his curse. He travled west. As he went, he noticed strange things happening to him. His right arm, the one that bore the twisted scar, began to grow stronger. An arrow he fired would whistle through the air at lightening speed and take a man's head off. Horrified and frightened, the man hurried westward. He heard of a forest where gods dwelled, a forest on a great mountain. In that forest, the Forest Spirit lived, a magnificent god with the body of a deer and the face of a man. The Forest Spirit would, if he saw fit, heal the young man's curse. After travels, the young man came to a river bed, where he found an injured man. He pulled the man out of the water and to the shore. There were many bodies littering the river, most of them dead. Only one other was alive. The young man continued his search for survivors to a windfall, where he ducked under in search of a body. As he did, his keen eyes caught soemthing white. He looked through the windfall and saw a huge mountain of faded white fur on the far river bed. Suddenly, two large wolves leapt from the trees. On the back of the smaller one rode a girl, no older than the young man. The young man was instantly struck by her beauty. Her hair was light brown, almost dark blonde. She had strange, red, triangular markings on her cheeks, and large, round earrings that glistened when she turned her head. Her eyes, the young man could not see, for she instantly rushed to the still mountain of fur that the young man had seen first. Upon touching it, the mountain moved and stood, showing itself to be a huge wolf, bigger than the other two by far. She was defiantly a great wolf goddess, and the two other wolves were her pups. But who was the girl? The young man saw a gaping wound on the goddess's neck. The girl rushed to it and pressed her mouth to the wound, sucking out blood and spitting it to the side. The young man wondered what she was doing. Suddenly, the goddess turned her big head in the young man's direction. He stiffened, realizing he had been scented. The girl looked up at the goddess then spun around. The young man realized he had nothing to lose, so he leapt on top of the windfall, into plain sight. The three wolves and the girl stared at him. He called to the girl, asking if she was thr princess of the wolf gods, asking if he had reached the realm of the Forest Spirit. The girl and the wolves stared a moment longer before the goddess stalked off into the forest. The girl leaped onto one of the smaller wolves and called over her shoulder for the young man to go away. But he had seen her eyes. They were blue. Striking blue." Ash finished. His captivated audience stared at him in awe. " That's all for tonight." Ash said. He ran a hand through his hair as the others filed away. He felt Sandy step up beside him. He turned to her and saw the crystal dagger she had found gleaming on her neck.  
  
" Did you see that? While you were telling the story? You were the young man." Sandy asked. Behind her, Naomi, Cassie, and Kory nodded. Ash sighed.  
  
" I saw it." he admitted. He didn't admit the fear in his heart. So now Cassie was seeing things too.  
  
" What was that?" Cassie asked, her voice quaking in characteristic fear. " I was the young man's sister." she admitted. Sandy frowned.  
  
" And I was the girl with the wolves." she said. The instant the word wolves left her mouth, a long, mournful wolf call errupted from somewhere nearby. Ash ran his hand through his hair again.  
  
" Let's go." he said. Naomi, Kory, and Cassie all walked ahead, but Ash and Sandy walked slower. Ash slipped his arms around her waist and sighed. What's happening to me, he wondered. Forbidden Mountain had never done this to him before.  
  
A large wolf ran up a peak to his den. There, his younger brother, also incredibly large in size, was waiting.  
  
" Brother, you were right. They've finally returned." he told his younger brother, who smiled.  
  
" I know I saw them last night. Smelled them too. Plain as day." he said. The older growled.  
  
" They kept their promise. The downfall of Morto is near." he snarled, relishing in the thought of it. Revenge would taste so sweet once San and Ashitaka had been awakened.  
  
Part Three... Wake Up To New Age  
  
The next day, Ash was dealing with someone her really didn't want to deal with.  
  
" Look, Abbey, I have no idea how you got in here, but this is a restricted dig. This is our area. You want to dig, go somewhere else." he said bluntly. The woman before him had straight, black hair in a ponytail. She was wearing very stylish clothes for an archeaologist. Behind her, her assitant, Gary, was fidgeting and awaiting orders.  
  
" Ash, dear, you and I both know I'll dig wherever I please. So just move aside and let me through." she said casually. Ash felt Sandy approach them from behind and felt her hand on his shoulder. Abbey jerked at how close they stood together.  
  
" Ash? What's going on? Who's she?" Sandy asked, eyeing the other woman with a suspiscious glare. Ash sighed.  
  
" That's Abbey Oshi. She says she has a grant to dig here." Ash explained, turning to look at Sandy. Sandy instantly flared up and glared at Abbey. Again, Ash had the feeling of deja vue. Like he had seen Abbey and Sandy glare at each other with hate and contempt before.  
  
" I do have a grant." Abbey said, her voice still calm and cool. Sandy straightened herself and regained her composure.  
  
" Then let's see it." she said, confidently. Abbey shrugged and handed Ash, making a point of ignoring Sandy, a piece of paper. Sandy gave Abbey another scowl and looked over Ash's shoulder.  
  
" It's legal alright, but the date is three weeks from today. Abbey, you're supposed to be here next month, not now." Ash said, sighing. Why did he have to put up with Abbey now? Not after Sandy...  
  
" Oh!" Abbey cried, snatching the piece of paper out of Ash's hands and reading it. " Oh! My mistake! Gary, why didn't you read the grant more carefully?" Abbey asked, turning to her assistant, who was confused by how the blame had suddenly shifted to him. Abbey's attention was back to Ash and Sandy almost instantly.  
  
" Well, Ash, I see you found a replacement for me." Abbey said coolly. Ash jerked. Sandy perked beside him.  
  
" Replacement?" she asked. Abbey just smiled.  
  
" Well, now that we're up Forbidden Mountain, we might as well stay a while. Come on, Gary, let's find a place to camp." Abbey said, shoving past Ash and Sandy.  
  
" Replacement?" Sandy asked Ash. Ash shrugged.  
  
" Don't listen to her. She used to follow me around and hang off me like we were a couple. I finally told her to go away and bug someone else, but she hasn't ever really left me alone." Ash explained. Sandy cocked her head.  
  
" But you were never interested in her?" she asked intently.  
  
" No way. Why?" Ash asked. Sandy blushed.  
  
" I... I just can't see you with that woman." she explained. Ash smiled and wrapped his arms around her waist.  
  
" Sure. Do I detect a tone of possessiveness?" he asked, smiling. Sandy's blush grew deeper.  
  
" Uh, possessiveness? Uh, well, I, uh-" she stuttered, but Ash cut her off by putting a finger on her lips. He smiled gently at her and then leaned down, gently grazing her lips with his...  
  
" Sandy! Where are you?" Naomi called from somewhere nearby. Sandy turned her head towards the sound and Ash sighed. If it's not one thing, he thought, it's another.  
  
After the dig, as night was beginning to draw its dark blanket over the camp and several boys were buliding the bonfire, Ash sat with Sandy, Naomi, Cassie, and Kory, examining the small collection the had found that day. Laid out on a small towel were a pair of earings shapped like huge saucers, a stone dagger, a short sword, several stone arrow heads, and a necklace of huge wolf teeth. Ash shook his head.  
  
" The legends say that Princess Mononoke wore large saucer earrings and a necklace of wolf teeth, and carried a stone dagger. The arrow heads and the sword might have belonged to the Lonely Warrior, the young man. Let's leave them alone. No more visions for today, right?" he asked, looking around him. Cassie, Naomi, and Kory nodded enthusiastically, while Sandy looked thoughtful.  
  
" Why are we having these visions? And in sync with one another? I keep having these flashbacks to running through a forest at night, or over rooftops, or... I don't know, weird stuff." she said slowly. Cassie looked petrifyed.  
  
" Naomi told me that we might be reincarnated, is that true?" she asked. Sandy jerked a little while Ash let his head droop.  
  
" I don't know." he answered. The group thought. Ash stood. " We'd better get to the fire. Time for the next part of the legend." he said.  
  
" And possibly answers." Kory mumbled. Ash knew Kory wasn't fond of what he couldn't understand. At the bon fire, Ash hardly needed to look to know that Sandy was smiling at him.  
  
" The next part of the legend is about the war between human and beast. After his encounter with the wolves and the beautiful girl, the young man carried the two wounded men to a beautiful lake in the forest, where he saw the wolves' tracks, and the girl's. He also saw strange tracks, like a sort of antelopes. Then, his arm began to jerk and twitch. In near panic, the young man submerged it in water, where he waited for it to subside. As he looked around, he saw a herd of deer moving across the lake. But then, he saw a strange deer among them. It had many antlers, all straight and sticking out of it's head. The fur on its neck was shaggy and hung down, almost to the ground. It had no snout. For a second, the strange animal stopped and stared at the young man, then moved on. As soon as it was gone, the twitching in the young man's arm stopped. The wounded man who was conscious asked if he was alright, and he answered that he was fine. They moved on to another, much bigger lake, where they took a boat across. There was a town called Iron Town on a small island in the lake. The wounded men belonged here. After an encounter with the town's leader, Lady Eboshi, and the towns women, and the wife of the injured man, the young man worked in the iron bellows for a while. The work let him think. Outside the town, San rubbed against her brothers and growled to them, telling them she loved them. The growled back as she mounted the eldest. The three ran towards Iron Town. The eldest wolf, San on his back, ran right up to the outer wall and slammed against it. As he did, San used his momentum to leap past the spikes that portruded out of the wall and slammed her spear into the wall above the spikes. She used her spear to jump up to the watch ledge, where she was attacked by several men. She moved like an animal, leaping here, jumping there, snarling, slashing with her stone dagger. She would jerk her head like a wolf. She killed the men and leapt onto the rooftops, running towards the town square. Meanwhile, the young man had been granted permission to Lady Eboshi's personnal garden, where about twenty lepers worked to create rifles for the women of Iron Town. The young man found out that Lady Eboshi had saved many women from brothels and bandaged many lepers. Despite her cold exterior, she had a kind heart. Then, Lady Eboshi was warned that the 'wolf girl' was in the town. The Lady simply walked into the town square, leaving the young man to wonder what was going on. She was accomanyed by two women, each toting a rifle. Lady Eboshi called to this wolf girl, saying that the wolf girl had killed the two womens husbands and they would like revenge. The women called too, calling the wolf girl a little witch and taunting her to come foreward. The young man began to suspect that the girl with wolves that he had seen at the river was the wolf girl. Then he saw her. The wolf girl. Standing straight amid the smoke from the bellows on the roof. She had a strange stone face mask over her face, and white wolf fur made a cloak for her. The girl raised her dagger. As she did, the young man saw the rifle men that had been positioned around the square, saw the trap that had been laid. The wolf girl rushed down the roof. Reacting with reflexes he didn't recognize, the young man rushed away and leapt onto the roof, running at the girl from the side. He tackled her, but she pushed him away. Then, one of the rifle men shot the roof under her feet, making her fall to the ground. As she stood, another bullet slammed into her face, shattering her face mask. Terrified for her safety, the young man knew he had to go to extremes. He reached down and yanked at a beam beneath him. When it didn't give, he concentrated and felt the singe of pain as his cursed arm bulged. He yanked again, this time ripping the beam out. He hurled it down, so that it landed and embedded itself upright about halfway into the ground. The young man then leapt down and knelt over the wolf girl, shaking her shoulders. She snapped awake with a cry. She slashed at him with her knife, catching his left cheek. The blood dripped down his cheek as he ducked and dodged the girls attacks and tried in vain to explain that he was a friend. The wolf girl seemed to decide that he was not her target and ran off. She charged at Lady Eboshi with a cry, and the Lady responded by tossing her over coat aside and brandishing a small sword of her own. The two circled each other while the town's people roared and cheered their Lady Eboshi. The wolf girl moved like a wolf, close to the ground, and looked ready to fight in a feral way, while Lady Eboshi stood upright and looked very regal. The young man charged foreward slowly, breaking any weapon that came between him and his goal. He tossed people aside like rag dolls, and all the while, bluish purple tendrils came out of his arm, flailing. He walked right into the ring where the two women fought slammed his right hand down on the wolf girl's wrist, rendering her dagger hand helpless, and used the butt of his small sword to push Eboshi back. He told the two not to fight. Thw wolf girl was oblivious to his words and clawed, bit, and wrenched his arm, trying to free herself, to no avail. Eboshi simply told the young man to back away. Then, the strange, bluish purple tendrils came up from his right arm again. The wolf girl forgot her struggled to maim the young man and began to pull away from him, near to panic, trying to bat the tendrils away with her free arm. Eboshi was not impressed as the young man told the people around him,  
  
' This is what hatred looks like, this is what hatred does to you! It's eating me alive and soon, it will kill me.' Then, to Eboshi, he said, ' Let her live. The girl's life is now mine.' Eboshi just smiled.  
  
' And I'm sure she'll make a lovely wife for you.' she taunted. ' You know, I'm getting pretty sick of that curse of yours. Let me just cut the damn thing off!' she cried, slashing at the young man with a dagger. The young man slammed her in the gut with the butt of his sword and handed her to some concerned women. Then he began to walk away, knocking the wolf girl out as he went and tossing her over her shoulder. One of the two women with rifles threatened him, telling him that no one could treat Lady Eboshi like that. The young man simply turned to her and gave her a soft, knowing look. She faltered, but then her anger flared and she poised her flint to light her rifle. She told him to stop or she'd shoot. Without knowing it, she lit the fuse and it burned down. Another woman shouted at her to dowse it, but before she could, the rifle shot. The bullet ripped right through the young man's left side and passed out his front, plopping on the ground. The young man staggered for a moment and then continued to walk. The town's people froze and watched in awe.  
  
' But how can he still be walking?" they all asked. The young man walked passed the bellows, where the wife of the man he had saved, a woman called Toki, saw him and stepped out to ask what happened. He passed her without a word, but when she looked down, Toki saw drips of blood following him. When he reached the front gate, the rifle men, who didn't actually work for Eboshi but for a priest named Jiko, tried to stop the young man, saying they were grateful that he had brought back a comrade of theirs, but they could not let him pass. The young man calmly stated that he had come through the gates that morning, and now he would leave through them. He shifted the wolf girl on his shoulder and put his right hand against the gate. His face puckered in concentration and determination as he leaned foreward. The strength granted to him by the curse helped him push a gate that normally took ten men to open upward. His faithful elk, Yakul, slipped out the gate. The young man hardly noticed that his blood had begun to drip quicker during his excursion. Outside the gates, the young man climbed on his elk, placed the wolf girl on the saddle in front of him, held her by her waist and prodded Yakul on. The young man found two wolves outside, waiting for him. They growled angrily, but ran along side with no trouble. The young man's blood dripped off his clothes and ran down Yakul's fur. Suddenly, San woke up. The first thing she knew was that she was riding on an animal. Strong, human hands gripped her waist. She wheeled around to see who, but the face fell out of sight as the other rider fell off. Instantly, San's brothers fell upon the rider with snarles and one snagged his head and began to chomp on it. On a bucking elk, San cried out to her brothers to leave the man be, that he was hers. The wolves fell back and San stepped foreward to see her rescuer. She recognozed him as the strange man from the river. He had blood running down his left side, pumping from a gaping hole in his body. San knew it was the work of a rifle. He was still breathing, but he was only hanging on by a thread. Suddenly angry, she asked him why he had stopped her from killing Eboshi. The young man simply replied that he didn't want to see San die. San was slightly taken aback, but replied haughtily that she wasn't afraid to die. The young man smiled slightly and answered,  
  
' I knew that from the moment I saw you.' San was angry again and pulled his own sword from its sheath and cried out that she should just kill him now. She brought the sword down point first to his neck, intending to stab him. Much to her own shock, something held her back, kept her from killing him. He continued his labored breathing with the sword tip barely touching his skin. Then he slowly opened his eyes and said,  
  
' You're beautiful.' before passing out. San stumbled back in shock. Why had he said she was beautiful? What had made him say that? No one else had ever said she was beautiful. But in a strange way, San liked it. Her brothers came and nuzzled her, asking if they should bite the human's head off for her. She told them to run home ahead of her. After thay had gone, San cooed the elk the young man had been riding on over and got him to help her carry the young man. While she was going, walking alongside the elk and talking to him, she found out the young man's name. When they reached their destination, San pulled the young man off Yakul, who had told her his own name, and pulled him into the pool they had arrived at. It was the pool where the Great Forest Spirit, a beautiful pool, the same where the young man had seen the strange deer. San carried the young man across the pool and laid him on an island, half in the water and half out. She stuck a sapling she had severed into the ground at his head and thought a prayer to the Forest Spirit. She looked behind her to where Yakul stood and commented to him how very wise he was, not to come onto the island. San swam out to Yakul, who stood faithfully in the water, and pulled his harness off, saying that he was free. She swam off to wash the human scent off of her. As she did, San looked back and thanked the silent stranger who had never once uttered his own name. Ashitaka." Ash took a deep breath. Something was happening inside him. As soon as the name "Ashitaka" left his mouth, he felt queasy. Then it happened. A sudden wrench in his gut. It almost felt like someone was yanking his insides. Sandy put her hand on his shoulder, but he hardly felt her.  
  
What? a voice in his head asked. Ash was panicked. Then, the strange voice seemed to fall back, and the queasiness subsided to a dull throb. When Ash looked up, Sandy was looking him in the eye, her face scrunched in worry.  
  
" Are you okay?" she asked. Ash felt he was sweating and his eyes were wide in panic. The queasiness rose again.  
  
San?! San! the voice in his called. Then he felt an alien confusion. San? the voice asked, sounding confused. Ash put his hands to his head.  
  
" San..." he murmured. Then it was gone. The feeling, the voice, the confusin the voice seemed to hold, it was all gone. Sandy looked afraid.  
  
" Ash? Are you okay?" she asked him, her voice high with fear.  
  
" I... I'm okay. Just a dizzy spell." Ash said, forcing himself to sound confident. Naomi, Kory, and Cassie, who had gathered around, seemed to accept this and retreated to their tents. Sandy wasn't buying it, though. She pulled him to the side, into the forest.  
  
" Yeah, right, Ash. Don't freak out or anything, but my sense of smell has been getting stronger. I smelled your fear. You were really scared. Now tell me what happened." Sandy requested. A part of Ash that seemed to only be just waking up wasn't surprised by Sandy confession of her stronger sense of smell.  
  
" A vision, I guess. I got really queasy, and then... You have to promise you won't think I'm crazy." Ash suddenly requested. Sandy sighed.  
  
" After all that's been happening to us, I wouldn't dream of it." she answered.  
  
" I heard a voice in my head." Ash confessed. Sandy looked him up and down and took his hand.  
  
" What did it say?" she asked softly.  
  
" It said... First, all it said was 'What?', like it was confused. Then, when I looked at you, it started yelling 'San!'. After that, it just repeated San and sounded really confused." Ash explained. Sandy nodded and then, suddenly lifted her head.  
  
" I smell something." she said warningly. That part of Ash that was waking up jerked.  
  
" What?" he asked. Sandy sniffed the air in an experimental way.  
  
" Wolves." she said. The word wolves made Ash feel strange. Sort of anxious and afraid, but very excited. Sandy sniffed again. " Close. Not four hundred yards away. I can even hear them moving." she whispered. Ash cocked his head and listened.  
  
" Your hearing is stronger too, because all I hear are crickets and frogs." he told her. Sandy put a finger to her lips and shushed Ash.  
  
" They're coming here." she warned. Ash followed her as they knelt down and attempted to make themselves small and unnoticable. Suddenly, two wolves leapt into the clearing. The were simply huge, the smallest eight feet at the shoulder. They turned their huge, shaggy heads towards Ash and Sandy. Sandy whimpered almost inaudibly beside Ash, who wrapped his arms around her protectively. The larger wolf walked behind them and shoved them to their feet and prodded them to walk foreward with his pointed nose. Sandy laughed shakily.  
  
" We're having deja vue flashes, freaky visions, weird dream, and all of it in sync with each other. And now, we're being kidnapped by two huge, off- white wolves. What next, huh?" she said. Ash suddenly felt the irresistable and outrageous urge to giggle uncontrably. He laughed slightly, but was silenced by a glare from the smaller wolf leading them. Sandy had summed up the situation well. They were being kidnapped. They walked for a long time, finally reaching a rocky peak that the wolves made them climb by snarling and barking at them. Ash was quick to do what they wanted, not trusting those sharp fangs for an instant. Sandy, however, was hesitant. She even returned the wolves' snarles for her own, which were much less threatening but still had something that made Ash look twice. Something familiar. They reached the top of the peak and Ash turned, instinctively knowing that there was a cave there, something he couldn't have known. Sandy followed him easily, and seemed to recognize the cave as well as Ash did. The wolves followed them into the cave and almost seemed to smile. The smaller one turned to the larger.  
  
" They're here. What now?" he growled. Sandy sat down suddenly, while Ash leaned against a wall.  
  
" You... You talk?" Sandy asked shrilly. The larger wolf laughed shortly.  
  
" Of course we talk. What did you expect us to do, meow?" he asked.  
  
" I don't know what I expected you to do, but it most certainly wasn't talk." Ash shot back, his anger arroused. " Why did you kidnapped us? What do you want?" he asked. Sandy stood and nodded eagerly.  
  
" Trust me, human, soon you will thank us for what we have done." the smaller wolf responded. Sandy crossed her arms.  
  
" Yeah, I'll believe it when I see it." she said in a cross manner. The larger wolf walked up to her and sniffed her. Sandy just glared at him. The wolf smiled, sadly this time.  
  
" Our beautiful, wonderful, strong, caring San. What have they done to you? You truly don't remember a thing, do you? You have become what you hated and feared the most. You're a human, San." he said slowly and sadly. Sandy reeled back.  
  
" That's not my name. My name is Sandy." she said, but her eyes were wide. Ash jerked as the smaller wolf nuzzled him.  
  
" And Ashitaka. You always were a human, but a wolf at heart. But that will change. You're home now." he said happily. Ash stepped back and shook his head.  
  
" I honestly don't know what you're talking about. And you've got the wrong guy. My name is Ash. Just plain Ash." he said.  
  
" Yeah, you've got the wrong people. We're just normal people." Sandy said defiantly. The larger wolf's smile grew.  
  
" You think you're brave, girl?" he asked. Sandy squared her shoulders and set her face.  
  
" I'm brave." she responded.  
  
" Then I have a challenge for you." the wolf replied. Sandy nodded.  
  
" Say San." the wolf said. Sandy cocked her head in surpirse and simplicity of her challenge. She looked to Ash and smiled. Ash felt a sickening feeling of foreboding and prayed that he wouldn't regret agreeing to guide this stupid dig.  
  
Sandy breathed deeply.  
  
" Fine." she said defiantly. " San." she added quickly. Nothing happened. The air in the cave was tense as she laughed. " Sorry, boys, nothing happened." she told them. The wolves smiled knowingly. Then it hit her, a sickening feeling in her gut. It wrenched her stomach as she fell to her knees with a groan. Then she heard the voice for the first time.  
  
What's going on? Where am I? Ashitaka? Oh, by the Forest Spirit! Mora! Mora! it cried in her head. Sandy leaned her forehead on the ground and felt Ash rubbing her back.  
  
Who are you? Why are you in my head? she thought at the voice. She felt a sense of surprise that wasn't hers and then aprhension and anger.  
  
Why are you in my head? the asked angrily.  
  
This isn't your head! It's mine! I was born with it, not you! You're the stranger here! And if you have anything to do with those talking wolves, then I'm outta here! Sandy thought back. The voice fell back in shock. When it spoke again, it was softer.  
  
Where am I? Where's Mora, and Ashitaka? it asked, sounding almost afraid.  
  
You're in my head and I have no clue how you got there. I don't know an Ashitaka and I don't know a M... The girl from my dream was called Mora! Sandy suddenly realized.  
  
Dream? And what do you mean, I'm in your head? The last thing I remember is a black wolf god coming from the ground and... Oh. Oh no. Please no. Oh, Mother! I'm dead! I died! Oh no! Mora! Ashitaka! Are they dead too? Please tell me, whoever you are! I have to know! the voice asked, and Sandy felt a rush of panic and pain. Sandy felt strangely tied to the voice's pain, like it was her own.  
  
Hold on, hold on. I don't even know who these people are. Tell me who they are. Sandy requested, her thoughts pleading.  
  
Ashitaka is my mate, or if you please, my husband, and Mora is our pup. the voice explained. Sandy vaguely heard Ash call to her, but she didn't pay attention.  
  
Alright, that's progress. Let's start with the basics. My name is Sandy. What's yours? Sandy asked patiently.  
  
Sandy. the voice said, sounding the name out slowly. I've never heard a name like that. I'm called the wolf girl, Princess Mononoke, but the people I care about call me San. came the reply.  
  
San... Oh, my God... I know who you are. But that's impossible. You've been dead for thousands of years! Thousands! I don't understand! sandy thought frantically.  
  
Thousands of years? What's thousands of years? San asked.  
  
Uh... More winters than there are trees in the forest. Sandy answered. She felt San's awe. Listen, I hear Ash calling me. I have to answer him soon, or he'll freak out.  
  
You feel for this boy. San noted. Sandy jerked inwardly.  
  
Um... I'm gonna talk to him now. she answered. Slowly, she raised her head and looked around.  
  
" Ash?" she asked hoarsely. Instantly he was there.  
  
" Sandy? Are you okay? Oh, God, you scared me! What happened?" Ash asked.  
  
" I... It was just like you said earlier, Ash. I felt sick and queasy, and then I heard a voice in my head. We talked and she kept asking for a guy named Ashitaka and a girl called Mora. She said that Mora was her pup and Ashitaka was her mate. Then I told her my name and she said her name was San, and she was also called Princess Mononoke." Sandy explained. Ash looked baffled. The San, in Sandy's head still, spoke up.  
  
This boy of yours looks just like Ashitaka! Ashitaka! she screamed in Sandy's head. Sandy put her hands to her ears and tried to shut out the sound.  
  
" San, knock it off!" she yelled out loud. Ash looked even more baffled.  
  
" She's in your head right now? Talking to you?" he asked.  
  
" She's not talking, she's screaming! San, knock it off means stop it! Please! You're hurting me!" Sandy yelped as San turned up the volume at the sound of Ash's voice.  
  
Ashitaka! Oh, Ashitaka! It's San! San screeched in Sandy's head frantically. Sandy squeezed her ears and head.  
  
Stop it, San! You're hurting us both! This is my body and you're in it, so stop it before you hurt the body we're both living in! Sandy screamed.  
  
" Sandy?! What's happening?" Ash asked in fear. Sandy began to feel the stress of two people demanding her attention at once.  
  
He doesn't hear me? San asked in a pitiful voice.  
  
That's not Ashitaka. He may look like this Ashitaka, but he's not. Sandy told her in an annoyed voice.  
  
" Sandy, what's going on?" Ash asked.  
  
" Apparently, you look a whole lot like her mate and San's having a cow in my head and it hurts." Sandy replied, rubbing her temples painfully. San felt annoyed to Sandy.  
  
He does look like Ashitaka. I want to know what's going on. she said angrily.  
  
" You and me both." Sandy mumbled.  
  
" What?" Ash asked, thouroughly confused.  
  
" I was talking to San." Sandy said in annoyance. This was going to be difficult. Then, she caught the scent of the wolves. San, who seemed to be able to see or sense whatever Sandy did, picked it up too.  
  
My brothers! Oh, please, may I see them? Lemme see them! San yelled. Sandy squeezed her eyes shut. Hey! San yelped at the sudden darkness.  
  
You're not seeing anyone until you promise to stop screaming in my head! Sandy yelled. San cringed at the pain Sandy's yelling caused.  
  
See? Sandy intoned, guiding San's attention to the pain. It hurts!  
  
Sorry. I'll stop. I'm just... San said, letting her thoughts trail off.  
  
Lost. So am I. Sandy told her. She opened her eyes and turned to the wolves. " What's going on?" she asked them out loud.  
  
They grew! They're as big as Mother! San cried quietly.  
  
It has been... all those winters. Sandy reminded her. She felt San's agreement. " San and I both want to know what's going on. And she wants to comment on your growth." she aid out loud. The wolves nodded.  
  
" I'm sure you two humans, and San, are very confused. Many, many winters ago, our uncle Morto emerged from the mountain, where he had been imprisoned since the beginning of time. Morto is pure evil and wants nothing more than to destroy all humans to avenge the deaths of Mother and the Forest Spirit. He began his avengence by killing San and her mate, Ashitaka. Mora, their pup, was terrified for their safety and followed them to the mountain, where Morto killed her as well." as the older wolf spoke, San let out a wail in Sandy's head, moaning for her precious pup. " My brother, myself, and Yakul, Ashitaka's great red elk, all had a vision in which Ashitaka and San promised us their return. We knew they would never return to us directly, so we waited for a sign. Meanwhile, Morto went on a rampage. He destroyed Iron Town, killed Eboshi, Toki, Koroku, Gonza, and Jiko. The few that remained made a deal with my brother and I. The humans would guard the mountain with us until San and Ashitaka returned. Until recently, they kept their promise. And now, you have come. You are the reincarnated forms of Ashitaka and San. Your names alone are enough to prove that. Think about it. Ash Taka is a shortened and modernized form of Ashitaka. Cassandra Moro carries the name of her wolf mother, and the name Cassandra has the sound of 'San' in it. The others, Cassie sounds slightly like Kia, Kory is a shortened form of Koroku, I'm not sure how Naomi came out of Toki, Abbey Oshi sounds like Eboshi if you say it fast enough, Gary and Gonza are simple names for a simple mind, and Jiko hasn't changed. It's easy enough if you think about it. Now sleep. You have a great task ahead of you. Boy, the time has come for you to awaken Ashitaka. Say his name." the wolf requested.  
  
" Ashitaka." Ash complied. Sandy didn't see what happened. She and San were both so tired, they fell asleep on the cave floor easily...  
  
Sandy was standing in white mist, face to face with a girl her age that look just like her.  
  
" You're San." she said. It wasn't a question, Sandy just knew.  
  
" It's good to see my reincarnated form. Come. We must dress you." San said, motioning for Sandy to sit. For what seemed like an hour or so, San dressed Sandy in wolf skin clothes, put large saucer earrings on her, draped a necklace of wolf teeth over the crystal dagger one, painted strange red triangles on Sandy'd cheeks, gave her a red head band, put her feet in moccasins, gave her a stone dagger, and then, cut her shoulder length hair. Sandy knew that now, she looked exactly like Princess Mononoke. And San was proud...  
  
As soon as the name left his mouth, Ash felt the familiar sickness. He doubled over and looked to Sandy, who slept peacefully near the cave wall. The sickness made him feel like he would vomit, but he didn't.  
  
Huh? the voice in his head asked. It sounded almost groggy, as though it had just woken up.  
  
It worked. Ash thought in awe. The voice in his head suddenly felt more alert.  
  
What worked? Where am I? Where's San and Mora? the voice asked in panic. How do I tell him that Mora's dead and San is in Sandy's head, Ash wondered.  
  
What?! Mora's dead?! How?! came the panicked reply.  
  
Uh-oh. You hear my thoughts. Ash thought worriedly.  
  
I honestly don't care if I do! What do you mean that San's in someone's head?! And where is Mora?! the voice asked in panic. Ash struggled to keep his cool and reminded himself that he was dealing with a panicked father and husband.  
  
I am not panicked! Tell me what's going on! the voice pratically screamed. Now Ash understood what Sandy meant when she said that San's screaming hurt.  
  
Look, buddy, I'm sorry. But Mora died...uh... more winters ago than you could ever count. So did you and San. Now you've been reincarnated, and I'm you're reincarnated form.The wolves just now made me wake up your spirit that's been sleeping in me all my life. So stop screaming! It hurts! Ash yelled. The voice fell silent and Ash could feel its intense pain and sadness.  
  
They're dead? it asked. I'm dead?  
  
Your body is dead. Your spirit has been alive, but asleep. Now you're living in my head. Technically, we're sharing a body. Ash explained.  
  
I'm inside your head... the voice thought as if trying to grasp the idea. Wait, you said San was inside someone else's head! Oh, sorry, I didn't mean to shout. Has she been reincarnated too? the voice asked hopefully. Ash smiled and lifted his head. He opened his eyes to see the wolves watching them.  
  
They grew. They're as big as Moro was now. the voice complimented.  
  
So you can see what I see? Ash asked.  
  
I can also hear them panting, smell the cave smell, feel cold night air. the voice replied.  
  
Cool. Ash thought happily, a thought that was greeted by confusion on the voice's part. Uh, I mean good. Good. Ash corrected himself. Ash turned his head to the sleeping Sandy.  
  
San? San... the voice thought. Can I touch her? it asked.  
  
I don't see why not. Just be warned, that's Sandy's body, and she's in control. San's inside. Ash said. He reached down and touched Sandy's cheek. She smiled softly and did a strange thing. She growled lightly, a pleasant sound.  
  
Totally in control? the voice thought, sounding smug.  
  
Apparently not. Ash agreed. The voice seemed to feel smug.  
  
I can tell you feel for this Sandy as I feel for San. it thought. Ash sighed.  
  
So much, it hurts. he thought back. What should I call you? Ash asked.  
  
Call me Ashitaka. You? came the response.  
  
Just Ash is fine. Ash answered. Suddenly, he felt incredibly tired. Uh, mind if I take a nap? he asked as his body sank to the cave floor.  
  
Not really, considering I wouldn't mind one myself. came the response. Ash drifted of to sleep and vaguely felt Sandy snuggle into his arms...  
  
Sandy's eyes snapped open and inside her head, San was instantly alert.  
  
It's morning. Let's go. Come on, get up! San coached.  
  
Oh, be quiet. It's like sunrise! Too early! Sandy moaned back, rolling over and noticing heavy arms draped around her. San didn't even seem to notice them. Huh? she asked, on the verge of panic.  
  
Ashitaka? So what? San asked. Oh, I forgot. she thought. Sandy squirmed out of Ash's heavy, warm arms regretfully, much to San's amusement, and stood. After she streched, she walked out onto the ledge and peered out onto the forest as dawn broke out over it.  
  
" Beautiful." she whispered.  
  
Home. San murmured. Sandy was suddenly assaulted with memories of battles and angry raids, fights and ambushes. Then, slowly, came pleasant memories that San seemed to cherish, memories of swimming with Ashitaka in a forest pool and dunking him, then getting tickled, of trying to figure out why it was so important for her to eat with chopsticks like Toki wanted, of watching Ashitaka drag one of Koroku's stubborn oxen halfway to Iron Town, of romantic moments when Ashitaka had shown his tender side, of pretty little Mora learning to walk, talk, ride wolves, hunt, and be a perfect cross between human and wolf. Memories of Mora saddened San.  
  
You miss her. Your pup. Sandy said. It wasn't a question, it was obvious. Tears that weren't her own filled her eyes.  
  
She was... beautiful. My whole world, or half of it. Half wolf, half human. She could speak human better than I could, but her senses were strong as mine. She knew every human tradition like a regular human pup, but was so much like a wolf too. She even looked like half me and half Ashitaka. My eyes, his hair, my ears, his nose, my face, his height. I would sit and stare at her while she slept and wonder how I, who was so imperfect and ugly, could help make something so beautiful and perfect. Then I would look at Ashitaka while he did something like sharpen his sword or make arrows, and I would wonder why this perfect man, this human, the only human I had ever loved, chose to love me. I was surrounded by these people who I loved more than anything, but I didn't feel worthy of their love. San said. Tears spilled over and Sandy wondered whose they were.  
  
Um... she thought, trying to break the emotional tension. Um... The forest... It must have been beautiful back then. I mean, it is now, but-  
  
It was the most gorgeous thing in this world. But after the Forest Spirit was destroyed, everything sort of, well, the inner light that made it so beautiful died too. It still is beautiful, but it's not the same. It never will be, I think. San thought. A hand landed on Sandy's shoulder, but she had scented Ash approaching her from behind a while back. You're getting good. Good as me. San admonished.  
  
I am you. Sandy reminded her as she turned to face Ash.  
  
" You scared me." he said. " I didn't know where you were."  
  
" Sorry. San woke me up and we were talking." Sandy explained. Her heart pounded uncontrolably as Ash slipped his arm around her waist. San laughed.  
  
Not funny! Sandy snapped at her. 


End file.
